GRAND RAPIDS -- In the midst of clinching their first Arena Football League playoff berth in five years, the Grand Rapids Rampage lost of one of their best playmakers to a cruel break in the third quarter Saturday night.

Rampage wide receiver Chris Johnson suffered a broken left leg while catching a 34-yard pass from quarterback James MacPherson in the third quarter of an 86-70 victory against the New Orleans VooDoo at New Orleans Arena.

His leg got trapped underneath him while being tackled.

Initial X-rays indicated Johnson, 30, of Memphis, Tenn., broke his fibula and will miss the playoffs, including next Monday's first-round matchup at Arizona.

"I think it's a huge loss for us," Rampage coach Steve Thonn said. "He's the guy that keeps everybody loose in the locker room, plus he's been so consistent on the field."

Johnson, 30, of Memphis, Tenn., had six catches, including two touchdowns in the first half, and finished with a team-high 97 receiving yards against the VooDoo.

His replacement, veteran linebacker/wide receiver Jermaine Lewis, stepped into the lineup and caught a pair of second-half touchdown passes.

"Fortunately, we've still got Jermaine," Thonn said.

"We also picked up Jason Shelley a couple weeks ago, and he can play the jack linebacker spot and wide receiver. He's really going to help us."

Johnson had emerged as a big-play threat this season.

The former Georgia Southern standout led the Rampage with 15 touchdown catches throughout the final seven weeks of the regular season.

In four seasons with three different AFL teams from 2003-06, Johnson had never caught more than nine touchdowns passes in a year. He ended up with 66 catches for 908 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Rampage this year.

Up for more honors
MacPherson, twice named the AFL's offensive player of the week, has a chance to be honored for a third time following his performance in the regular-season finale.

He accounted for 10 touchdowns against the VooDoo.

MacPherson (Tucson, Ariz.) finished 21-of-32 passing for 244 yards while throwing seven touchdown passes and running for three more scores.

In addition, MacPherson has been nominated for AFL offensive player of the month in June. He led the Rampage to a 3-1 mark, including a season-ending three-game win streak to help put the team in the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

In those four games, he completed 103-of-140 passes (73.6 percent) for 1,228 yards (307.0 per game), 26 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He had a passer rating of 133.6 for Weeks 14-17, and rushed 17 times for 62 yards and six more touchdowns.

Tearing out pages
The Rampage record book underwent an overhaul throughout the regular season, especially on offense, when the team erupted for a franchise-record 92 points in a Week 4 rout of the Kansas City Brigade in a March 24 road game.

It also established an AFL road scoring record.

The next week, the Rampage scored 84 points at home while smothering the Los Angeles Avengers, giving Grand Rapids a AFL-record 176 combined points in back-to-back games.

The Rampage scored more than 80 points a franchise-record four times this season. In its previous 10 seasons, the team had topped 80 a total of three times.

Magner the magnificent
Rampage wide receiver Cole Magner can do it all.

He not only led the team in receptions in the second half of the season, he proved he could score as a rusher, too, in Saturday's regular-season finale. He took a direct snap from the center in the second quarter and scored on a 1-yard plunge against the VooDoo, increasing the Rampage's lead to 35-21.

It was the first rushing touchdown of his AFL career.

Magner (Palmer, Alaska) has carried the football two times this season, including a 9-yard rush on his other attempt. He finished the regular season with 69 receptions for 739 yards and 12 touchdowns despite missing six games with an ankle injury.

Helping hand
It turned out the Rampage (6-10) didn't need help making the postseason.

Even if they had lost to New Orleans on Saturday night, they still would've clinched an American Conference playoff spot by virtue of Los Angeles falling, 72-47, to the Tampa Bay Storm in their regular-season finale.

Instead, the Rampage knocked the VooDoo out of the playoffs.

In addition, they provided help to other teams.

A Grand Rapids win put both the Orlando Predators (9-7) and New York Dragons (8-7) into the National Conference playoffs.

It marks the 17th consecutive trip for the Predators to the postseason, while the Dragons, who lost to the Philadelphia Soul on Sunday afternoon in their regular-season finale, are returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.